Wire reel



Filed Sept. 5, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR. 5'? l/fR/O FRANK R50 0 A TTORNEV Patented Apr. 1, 1952 UNITED 2,590,890

wmnREnn SaverioFrank Redo. SpringfieldGardens, 1 Applicatioii september s; is iwrserrar-m;"77.1;951

The present invention relates to wire-winding devices 'and moreparticularly to an autom'atic rewinding i devicetor: electric cords or tithe like. A device in accordance with the invention is i of use in' connection with-- electrical- -"devices--in -;which-a--=-leng th- -of cordis provided between the -;device----and :the outlet. The device -is ad'apted tol preventtanglingor wear of thecord and is particularly pseful for-the reeling of .thecords oftele'phon'esglamps stage-lighting fixtures, fans, cooking appliances and other:- similar l-devices using eleetric cords.

.lgAn objectot the inventiori' is to provide a wire reel for the cords of electrical appliances and the like whichis adaptedtoautomatically rewind 1 the cgrd upon the' actuation of a' -release-means. {Another object .is to provide a wire reel which l light in" weight and compact in construction. Another object .isto provide a wire reel which is"s'imple=indesign and' 'which may be manufactur'edwithout the requirement of a highide'gree bf mechanical sldll. I

Another "object is to provide a wire reel which rugged in construction and which: can withstand-*anyroughusage towhi'chit ay be sulc- In accordance with the invention; the foregomg objects are accomplished by; providing a Wire reel comprising a support" for areel' which is "i rota't'ablyi' mounted "thereon and "resiliently eain one"directionto' rewind wire withdrawn "therefrom; the rewinding "energy" 'being'stored' in the resilient means .by'the unwinding "of the cord. Sliding electric contact means are provided between the rotatable reel and its support 'so that the-cord--is-not stressed by the rotation of the "relfPlug connection means are provided in the support'for attachment of the reeled cord to an electric circuit.

" Gtlierobjects btthe invention will be: apparent from the following description' and from the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example; an 'embodiment'of the invention.

---In the drawings:

Fig. a plan view or-a wire reel in-a'ccord- Figi 6 ="is ae-side view on areduced 'scale of a modified form ofwire' reelin accordance with the invention.

Fig. 7-is .a-sectional view or the-wire reel shown in Fig. 6 and corresponding to the view 'of the wire reel shownin' Fig: 4.

1 Fig. 8'" is an"enlarged fragmentary-- vie'w of a portionbf-Fig: 4.

7 Referring" to the drawings there is shown in Fig." l awirereel l in accordance-with the inventi'on. The wire reel comprises a supporting "member 2 OnfWhiCh isrotatably'mounted afireel adapted to be actuated to allow the spring -Mto turn the reel 3 so as to wind uplthe cord 5.

"'I'hesuppo'rting member z may be made bf any "suitable materiaL such as metal orplastic, and

"is preferably circular in 'sh'ape. -The= supporting member is "adapted to be attached to any-F ap- 'propriate fixed surface such as the 'base. of a telephone, lamp -or other -.appliance, or it may be attached to a wall or. table. 1 A 'hollow: cylindricalrnember 9 made or insulating material is formed integral with; "or attached to; the center "of the supporting member Ito-provide bearing "means-for the reel 3. Electric plug connection means is positioned. within the cylindricalmemf ber and includes spring contact-members '1 G and ll adapted to receivethe usual nale electriec'o'nn'ecti'orr plug. -'1he contact members are" preferably molded 'in-- the "hollow cylindrical memb'er 9 and frictionally or adh'esively retained inrp'osi- "tion. Theoylihdridal member 9 is drilledi-and fitted-with a bolt in} thecenter-'- as indicated at 4 170 provide attachment-means for "the'rcover plate 6. l l he outer surface of the cylindrical member isad'apted to support and -insula'te-a pair of annular-electric slip rings I5xand 1B? which i are retained in? position in 'spaced' relationship by the insulating" material. Electrical 'contact ---is made between each-of the rings -l Sand 11 G and --one of-thecontact-members lttiand It by'exten- --p'erforations in the wall or theicylindrical' mem- 'si'ons' ofthe 'conta'ct niembersextending through her-9.

The rear 3 :is preferablymade with one "side wall 11- and its-hub or center portion 19 integral. 'lhe--cehter portion' l9 is' made of a size to be rota-tablymounted; on the cylindricalmember 9. Spring contact members/20 and 2| "are positioned on theinner surface' of the center portion 49 so --that each mak'es' electrical contactwith one of the slip' rings li-and 4.6; ends 'of 'the contact members being brought to nut and bolt members 22 and 24 extending through perforations in the center portion l9 and providing means for attaching the wires of cord 5 to the contact members. A clip 25 may be used to attach the cord 5 to the center portion IE to relieve the strain between the connections of the wires of the cord and the nut and bolt members as the reel is unwound.

The outer wall 26 "of the reel 3 is attached to the center portion 19 in any usual manner such as by cementing, weldin or by equivalent constructions. An annular rim 21 is positioned on the outer side of the wall 26 to form aspring coil retainer and carries the coiled spiral spring 4, one end of the spring 4 being attached to the rim 21 while the other end of the spring is attached to the cylindrical member 9 by a rivet 28. In order that the reel may be retained in position with the cord unwound, the periphery of the outer side of the wall 26 is formed with prongs or lugs 29 adapted to engage with the latching release means 1. The prongs 29 are preferably angularly spaced about 30 degrees apart.

The cover plate 6 is formed with a side wall 30 adapted to practically completely enclose the mechanism of the wire reel. An opening 3| in the side wall 39 for the passage of the cord 5 is formed with a rolled edge 32 to prevent chafing of .the cord. The cover plate 6 is made with apertures 34 positioned to correspond to the connection plug members l and II. Other apertures 36 are adapted to receive flat-headed screws 31 to engage with the drilled and tapped holes I4 to hold the cover plate 6 in position over the reel 3.

The latching release means I is carried by the cover plate 6 and includes a rod 39 normally urged outwardly by a spring 40. An extension 4! is formed with a surface 42 adapted to engage with the prongs or lugs 29. By moving the rod 39 inwardly, the surface 42 of the extension 4| ismoved away from the prongs 29 and the reel 3 is freed to rotate.

Cord is placed on the wire reel by removing the cover plate 3 and rotating the reel 3 to wind the spring 4 to the desired tension. The wires of the electric cord are then attached to the nut and bolt members 22 and 24. The clip 25 is attached to securely hold the cord 5 to the center portion l9 of the reel. The reel is then allowed to rotate windingthe cord thereon. The cover plate 6 is positioned over the mechanism and secured by screws 31. In withdrawing the cord from the reel, the rod 39 is depressed and the desired length of cord unreeled. The rod 39 is then released holding the reel from rotating and rewinding the'cord. In the event it is desired to rewind the cord, the rod 39 is depressed and the reel 3 rotates winding the cord thereon.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 6 and 7 in which a portable wire reel 44 is disclosed. The supporting member 2 is supplied with a handle 45 to hold the device while cord is being wound thereon or removed therefrom and for carrying the device. This embodiment is particularly suitable for the cords of trouble lamps and other port-able devices. In order to provide more tension for the rewinding of the cord, this form of the device is provided,

with a double spring. In this embodiment, the side wall ll of the reel 3 is provided with an annular rim 21a to form a spring coil retainer for a second spring 4a. The spring 4a is attached at one end to the rim 21a and at its other end lustrated with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that other embodiments may be resorted to without departing (from the invention. The size of the reel and the strength of the spring may be varied depending upon the size and length of the cord to be wound thereon. Therefore, the form of the invention set out above should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claim. I

I claim: I

A wire reel comprising a base member, a hollow cylindrical supporting member projecting upwardly from the base member, a pair of metal slip rings positioned on the outer surface of the hollow cylindrical member, the slip rings electrically insulated from each other, female electrical connection means adapted to receive an appliance connection and positioned Within-the hollow cylindrical member and electrically connected with the slip rings, a wire reel for an electric cord, the wire reel having a hollow hub adapted to receive the hollow cylindrical member, the wire reel including a pair of radially extending flanges to receive wire therebetween, electrical contact means carried by the wire reel and extending inwardly to make sliding contact with the slip rings, a spring positioned at the upper side of the wire reel, the spring having one end attached to the wire reel and having its other end attached to the cylindrical member, an annular member attached to the upper side of the wire reel adjacent the periphery thereof torestrict the outward expansion of the spiral spring and providing means attaching the spring to the wire reel, a plurality of stop members extending radially from the upper side of the wire reel, a cover plate secured to the cylindrical member, and a latch member carried by the cover member and adapted to engage with one of the stop members to releasably oppose the rotation of the wire reel in the direction to unwind the spring to wind an electrical cord on the wire reel.

S. FRANK REDO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,024,417 Pagnod Apr. 23, 1912 1,770,454 Becket a1. July 15, 1930 1,978,734 Apple et a1. Oct. 30, 1934 2,232,580 Wickemeyer Feb. 18, 1941 2,391,840 Meletti Dec. 25, 1945 2,514,628 Cortes July 11, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 Number Country Date 657,150 France l Jan. 11, 1929 23,641 Great Britain Oct. 25,-1907 

